The Rapid City Council has put a halt to putting up new billboards in town. The council Tuesday night approved another moratorium on all new off-premise signs. That goes for both replacement signs and electronic reader boards.

The council also requested that the mayor appoint a new 11-member Sign Task Force.Until the new task force comes up with recommendations the council approves of, no new signs can go up.

Alderman Dave Davis says, "Certainly there are people in Rapid City that would like to see all billboards go away. On the other side we've got businesses that make their living from putting up billboards and advertising on billboards, so we need to protect those as well. A committee of both sides will work towards that middle ground of creating something that justifies both."

The moratorium takes effect once the notice is published in the local newspaper. It's set to remain in effect until February of next year but could end sooner if the task force reports back with recommendations that get the council's approval.

Amanda Weber